


Wolfsbane

by clairevxyance



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kairi is Sora's voice of reason lets be real, M/M, SoKai friendship, Werewolf AU, Werewolves, theyre like the guys from Buzzfeed Unsolved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-27
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-07-18 10:44:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16116779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clairevxyance/pseuds/clairevxyance
Summary: Mere seconds after he put the timer on, a long, bone-chilling howl came from outside. Sora froze in place for a moment and hoped and prayed that he wasn’t imagining things. Forgetting the popcorn, he dashed back into the living room.“Kai!” he exclaimed. “Please tell me you heard it too.”Kairi was now sitting rigidly upright on Sora’s couch with wide, hopeful eyes. “It’s a real werewolf.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys!! I've had this idea for a little while, inspired by my friend Captainsomnia's Voltron werewolf AU Gone and Back Again. I'm going to keep this short, maybe 3-4 chapters. Hope you guys enjoy!

_“Mama, what are those blue flowers? I see them everywhere on the islands,” Sora asked as he was gently tugged along towards the beach. Sora’s little index finger pointed towards a clump of blue flowers on the threshold between the sand and the beginnings of the jungle._

_“It’s called Wolfsbane,” his mother replied gently. “It’s poisonous though; you could get very sick if you ate or touched it.”_

_Sora’s face twisted into a pout and his brow creased. “If it’s so dangerous, why is there so much of it? I’ve seen it growing on the other islands too!”_

_His mother set down the blanket on the sand and placed her bag down on it. They both sat, and then she said, “It’s because there’s legend of werewolves on these islands. The Wolfsbane keeps them away and protects us.”_

_Sora sat quietly, pondering this for a moment. “I hope I get to see one of them one day.”_

* * *

Sora never forgot about the stories his mother told him when he was a child; that werewolves roamed the Destiny Islands. He saved all the crude drawings of wolves under full moons and the drawings of the blue flowers that kept them at bay. He and Kairi had been poring over every little amount of lore there was to know; they knew everything about the beasts, except for what they looked like in the flesh.

He and Kairi had been obsessed with them ever since they found out that the prospect of werewolves living on _their_ island became a possibility. When they started getting older, their parents said it was only myth, that the beasts were hardly anything more than fiction. But Sora and Kairi were determined to get evidence that they existed.

There were several times as kids where Sora and Kairi wanted to go search for these werewolves, but their parents would never allow it. Each time the excuse was different: “You could get lost in that dense of a jungle”, “There’s so much poison ivy!”, and even “Those beasts will eat you two right up”.

Sora and Kairi were both sixteen now; old enough to be treated almost like adults, but young enough to still believe in muddled myths. Kairi was on the couch in Sora’s living room, and Sora was bustling around in the kitchen making snacks for them. Rain pattered softly against the windows. A cheesy black and white film was on; even though it was possibly the corniest thing Kairi had ever seen, she watched it with wide eyes. Sora padded back into the dark living room, bowl of popcorn in one hand and a cream soda in the other for Kairi. The redhead took it without even glancing up at her best friend. Sora plopped down right next to her and sunk into the couch.

A scream tore from the woman in the movie as the man in front of her transformed under the full moon. Sora couldn’t help but laugh at the terrible special effects. It looked like they had taken individual pictures of the transformation process, which wound up making it look like a time-lapse instead of a transformation. Kairi slapped him on the arm, her violet eyes glued to the screen.

“Oh c’mon, Kai, the movie is terrible!” Sora sighed. “It’s so bad that it’s funny!”

“ _SHH_ ,” Kairi hushed him. “It’s getting to the good part.”

The two watched in almost-silence, as Sora munched on the popcorn in his lap. He had managed to eat through almost all of it in a span of twenty minutes so when Kairi reached over into the bowl, it was nearly empty.

“Sora!” Kairi said in disbelief. “What the hell, how come you didn’t save me any?”

“Well, there _was_ plenty. You were just too engrossed in this sad excuse of a movie,” Sora retorted. “I’ll go make some more, be right back.”

Sora hoisted himself up from his much too comfortable couch and walked into the kitchen again, not even bothering to turn on the light. The box of popcorn bags was right where he left it (next to the microwave), so he grabbed one and popped it in. Mere seconds after he put the timer on, a long, bone-chilling howl came from outside. Sora froze in place for a moment and hoped and _prayed_ that he wasn’t imagining things. Forgetting the popcorn, he dashed back into the living room.

“Kai!” he exclaimed. “ _Please_ tell me you heard it too.”

Kairi was now sitting rigidly upright on Sora’s couch with wide, hopeful eyes. “It’s a real werewolf.”

The two of them looked at each other for a moment longer before breaking and scrambling around Sora’s house. Sora rummaged through the drawers in the kitchen and found a working flashlight. Kairi dashed into Sora’s room and snatched two hoodies from the closet, knowing Sora wouldn’t mind if she borrowed one for the time being. Sora looked at the kitchen counter and thought about bringing his dad’s camera but knew Sora would get an earful from him if it got ruined in this weather.

The brunet ran back into the living room, almost colliding with Kairi. She hastily threw one of the sweatshirts at him. He tugged his on and jammed his feet in his sneakers. Sora threw open the front door and fumbled with the flashlight until his shaking hands managed to switch it on. Kairi was so worked up that she had gotten stuck in Sora’s borrowed sweatshirt. She finally pulled it down over her head and switched on her flashlight. The two shared a glance and quietly trekked into the undergrowth.

Rain drizzled down on them, shrouding the island in a fine mist. The flashlight beams danced back and forth along the path and through the bushes; Sora and Kairi didn’t want to miss a single piece of evidence that _proved_ a werewolf lived on the island.

The pair walked the twisting dirt path that lead further and further into the heart of the island. The further they got, the less enthusiastic they were about finding evidence. Kairi’s feet started to drag in the mud, and her hand holding the flashlight fell to her side.

“Sora, it’s getting late,” Kairi said as she stifled a yawn behind her hand. “I think we should head back.”

Sora was about to agree with her when another howl made the hairs on his arms stand on end. The two of them froze. It sounded _so close_ ; Sora just _had_ to know where it was coming from. He looked to Kairi and made his best puppy dog eyes at her. She rolled her eyes.

“Fine,” Kairi caved. “If we don’t find anything in ten minutes though, we’re going back.”

The two of them continued down the beaten path. The rain started to fall faster and heavier the further they trekked into the center of the island. Kairi pulled the strings of her hood so that it scrunched around her face. The heavy rain made it even harder to see what was in front of them, even with their flashlights.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until something rustled behind them. Kairi squealed, jumping behind Sora. He hastily swung his flashlight around only for the beam to land on an unsuspecting rabbit. Both Kairi and Sora let their shoulders drop. The rabbit hopped away frantically just as the light in Sora’s flashlight died.

“Sora, let’s go back now before my flashlight dies,” Kairi whispered, the adrenaline pumping through her system still evident in her voice.

“Yeah,” Sora said breathlessly.

Sora was about to turn around when a low growl came from the bush next to them. Sora froze; he was imagining it right? He was tired, and his brain was making things up. But then the growl came again. Kairi was already a couple of feet away when she realized Sora wasn’t next to her. The brunet looked over his shoulder into the bush.

“Sora, _come on_.”

Sora’s eyes met with a pair of glowing green eyes from within the bush. A bolt of lightning lit up the sky in front of them, and Sora gleaned the unmistakable silhouette of a giant wolf.

“ _Run_!”

Sora snatched Kairi by the sleeve and yanked her in the direction they had come. Behind them, the wolf howled again, and it was so close that the hairs on the back of Sora’s neck stood on end. Kairi trailed not too far behind. Sora screwed up his face against the sheet of rain pouring down into his eyes.

They crashed through the brush and slid on the sand on the other side. Sora keeled over with his hands on his knees, his chest heaving with the effort to inhale. Kairi stood with her hands on her hips and stared wild-eyed in the direction they had come from. Once Sora got a hold of his breathing, he stood up straight and stared Kairi in the face.

At the same time, they breathed, “The wolf.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get this out on/before halloween but I failed miserably ugh. Here's this chapter though. I might have it be 4 or 5 chapters depending on how far I want this to go, but I want to keep this short
> 
> thanks for reading!

Sora and Kairi burst through Sora’s front door. The pair fumbled into the kitchen where Sora’s mother stood. She wore simple grey sweatpants and a light blue t-shirt that brought out the same blue eyes that Sora had. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, arms folded across her chest, and brow creased with worry. At the sight of her son and his friend, she sighed in relief.

“I was wondering where you two wandered off to!” She exclaimed. “Sora, you know better than to leave without saying anything or without sending me or your father a message.”

Sora smiled sheepishly and scratched his cheek. “Yeah, I know. Sorry, ma. But guess what!”

Kairi didn’t wait for Sora’s mother to respond. “We saw the werewolf that you were always telling us about!”

“The what?”

“The _werewolf_ , mom!” Sora reiterated. “Remember? You always told me that those blue flowers kept them away from us and—”

Sora’s mother huffed with laughter. “You guys, those were just tales; none of those were real. There is no wolf. Besides, you’re too old to be believing those stories. We told those to you so that you wouldn’t wonder off past those flowers when you were little.”

“But we _saw_ it!” Sora protested. “You can’t tell me what I did and didn’t see.”

His mother gave him a stern look. “It’s not real, Sora. Now it’s way past your curfew, you two. I’ll give you a ride home Kairi.”

Kairi and Sora shared a solemn look for a moment before she was ushered out by Sora’s mother. The front door closed behind them, leaving Sora alone in the dimly lit kitchen. He shuffled off toward his bedroom. Sora didn’t bother to change into comfier clothes as he flopped down on his bed.

He lay on his back and looked up at the ceiling. Rain streamed down the window. Even though Sora was one hundred percent sure he had seen the wolf, a seed of doubt planted itself in his thoughts; was it a trick of his mind? Was he so scared that he imagined it?

Sora sat up in bed. No; he was completely sure he had seen the wolf. He was going to prove it.

He got up the next morning for school after an almost restless night of sleep. A pair of glowing green eyes chased him in what bits and pieces of a dream he had, and Sora was jumpy to say the least; the toast popping out of the toaster nearly made him jump out of his skin.

Sora’s father was sitting at the kitchen table, coffee mug in one hand, newspaper folded in the other. His mother, in her pale pink scrubs, placed her mug in the sink and was on her way out the door. She placed a quick kiss on Sora’s forehead as she walked to the front door. Sora continued to fix his breakfast at the counter.

“Your mother tells me you saw a wolf last night,” Sora’s father said without looking up from his paper.

Sora’s butter knife stopped halfway across his piece of toast. He looked up across the counter at his dad, and he sighed. “Yeah, did she also tell you she thinks I’m crazy?”

Sora brought his plate and his glass of orange juice to the table, sitting across from his father. He started nibbling at his toast. His father set down both his mug and the paper. He looked at Sora.

“You don’t actually believe it’s a werewolf, do you?” he asked.

“You can call me crazy if you want, dad,” Sora slumped back in his chair. “I know what I saw. I know wolves are big and all, but this one was beyond huge. _And_ it had these glowing green eyes. Normal wolves’ eyes aren’t green. They’re like, brown or blue, and I know for a fact that they don’t just glow like that.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t just reflecting the light of your flashlights?”

“Don’t you believe me?” Sora asked, exasperated. “I’m telling you, our flashlights were nowhere near its face. Its eyes were like two big green light bulbs.”

His father gave him an incredulous look and grunted. Sora dropped his toast back onto his plate and folded his arms tightly across his chest. Sora wasn’t particularly hungry anymore. His own parents didn’t believe what he was telling them, and honestly it stung him. His lower lip jutted out.

“Right. You don’t believe me either,” Sora mumbled. “Kai and I are going to get proof and show you guys. Then you and mom will _have_ to believe us.”

He got up from the table and dumped what he hadn’t eaten into the garbage. He straightened his tie on his way to the door. Sora scooped up his backpack from the entryway and said goodbye to his dad. The ferry was in ten minutes, and if Sora didn’t book it, he would be very, very late to school. He half-walked, half-ran to the ferry station and managed to get on just before they stopped letting people on board. The ferry carried him across the stretch of water to the main island.

* * *

 

When Sora got to school, Kairi told him all about how her grandmother wasn’t quite sold on the idea of the werewolf living on their island, but she didn’t completely dismiss it. She had told Kairi that when she was about their age, maybe even a bit younger, that she saw a huge wolf-like creature too. Except her grandmother said that she remembered the beast having golden eyes, not green; it was a possibility that this was a different beast.

Later, when classes were over, Kairi and Sora met up near his locker and they walked out of the building together. They passed a bulletin board brimming with colorful flyers and posters. It was a community bulletin board, so there were more than just school events on the board. As Sora and Kairi passed it, Sora noticed a particularly large poster stapled over a good portion of the board. He slowed to a stop in front of it. Kairi hadn’t noticed Sora wasn’t next to her until she was about halfway to the door. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder at him. Kairi joined him in looking at the poster.

It was a missing persons poster. The boy in the poster had long silver hair that came past his shoulders and piercing green eyes. The boy appeared to be in the same school uniform as Sora, but his collar was popped and his tie loose. Sora’s eyes trailed down to the name. _Matsuoka Riku_ it read under the picture. Sora stared at Riku’s picture, certain that he had seen him somewhere before. A flash of Riku leaning against the lockers talking with a pretty girl with short hair shot across his mind. Sora was sure that he and Riku had had a class together at one point too but couldn’t remember if it was biology or English.

The poster read that Riku had been missing since last Thursday. It was Wednesday now. There were two numbers on the poster to contact if any information could be relayed on Riku’s whereabouts. Sora snapped a picture of the numbers just in case.

“What do you think happened to him?” Kairi asked softly as the two of them left the school building.

Sora’s hands were shoved deep in his pockets. He frowned. “I don’t know. Hopefully nothing too bad.”

The two fell into a silence, a silence only years of friendship could make comfortable. The early autumn sun was starting to begin its descent in the sky, washing the sidewalk and the neighborhood in a warm golden glow. Leaves crunched underneath their shoes less and less as they were nearing the ferry station. The sidewalk turned into a pier, and the breeze grew stronger. Sora mindlessly adjusted his tie, and Kairi lightly nudged him in the side.

“Hey,” she started. “Are we wolf hunting or what this weekend?”

“Oh, right,” Sora said as he fished his wallet from his pocket to show the crew member his pass. Kairi flashed hers. “How do you think we should do that?”

Kairi leaned against the hand rail, her strawberry red hair blowing in the wind. “I think we should camp out where we saw it, y’know, that clearing? Maybe it likes to hang out around there.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” Sora mused. “We’re going to need a tent. And sleeping bags. And food.”

Kairi hummed. “I think my brother might have a tent. I can ask if we can borrow it. As for food, we might just have to raid our pantries. Do you think you could borrow your dad’s camera?”

“I don’t want to ruin it, Kai,” Sora winced, as if he was already getting yelled at by his father for doing something to the camera. “It might be best to just use our phones. I have some of those portable chargers, we could use those.”

“Oh good! How about we meet up at my house after school on Friday and set up camp in that clearing?” Kairi suggested. “That should give us enough time to get what we need.”

The ferry docked when they were discussing their plans in more detail: Kairi was in charge of the tent, Sora was in charge of food, and the both of them would scrounge up their own sleeping bags, flashlights, and whatever else they needed.  They parted where Kairi’s street branched off. Sora waved and continued walking in the direction of his house.

The street was quiet, save for the leaves rustling in the wind, refusing to remove themselves form their branches. Sora’s brown loafers tapped quietly against the concrete of the sidewalk. The neighborhood was usually pretty quiet around this time, but something felt eerie to Sora. He hurried the rest of the way home.

Sora stopped at his front door and dug around in his backpack for his keys. He almost panicked when he thought he had forgot it before leaving for school this morning, but he triumphantly pulled out the lanyard after nearly tearing his bag apart for it. Sora turned the key in the lock and walked inside.

His mother and father weren’t home, which was pretty normal. His mother worked as a nurse at the hospital on the main island; his father worked an office job. Sora dropped his bag in the entry way and toed off his shoes haphazardly. He went straight to the pantry. Sora looked around and grabbed a bag of unopened potato chips and a box of granola bars. If his mother found out the food she had just bought was gone already, Sora was going to get an earful. Hopefully she wouldn’t notice. He stashed them on a low shelf in his closet in his room and went back into the kitchen.

Sora managed to snag a few other things for the stakeout—a few water bottles, Oreos, his mom’s digital camera that she hardly ever used—and hid them in his room. None of these items would be particularly questioned if his parents noticed they were gone. He messaged Kairi and told her he was all set.

Sora couldn’t wait.

 

“You’re going _where_?”

Sora stood in the kitchen with his father. His mother was sitting at the table staring incredulously at him.

“I _said_ I’m going to Kairi’s house tonight. We’re camping out in her backyard,” Sora reiterated. He has his sleeping bag pack slung over his shoulder and his backpack in his hand with all the goodies he took from the pantry. He was in his red hoodie (his most comfortable one), dark grey joggers, and plain black sneakers.

His father quirked an eyebrow. “…Is there something you want to tell us? About Kairi?”

It took Sora a moment to register what his father meant. Once it clicked, Sora turned red all the way up to the tips of his ears. “Nononono,” Sora quickly sputtered. “No, no. Kairi—she’s great and all but we’re r-really just friends. I don’t even—we’re not—"

“Don’t be embarrassed, Sora,” his father chuckled a bit and clapped him on the shoulder.

“She’s just my best friend. We’re not anything more than that,” Sora muttered. “Besides, just because she’s a _girl_ doesn’t automatically make me like-like her. Guys and girls can be just friends.”

“Of course, sweetie,” Sora’s mom said from the table. “We were just wondering because you do spend an awful lot of time with her—”

“Again! Just friends! Best friends hang out _aaaaall_ the time!” Sora shouted. His face was burning, and he was sure his parents could clearly see that. “I’m leaving now, I’ll probably be back later tomorrow afternoon.”

Sora’s mother stood up from the table. “Don’t you want me to drive you? It’s so dark—”

“I’ll be alright,” Sora called from the entry way. “I’ve walked to and from her house a million times.”

His parents watched as Sora slipped out the front door. He started by casually walking down the walkway and around the corner. Once Sora was off his street, he started running. All the adrenaline in his veins was pumping him forward.

Tonight, he and Kairi would get a picture of that werewolf.


End file.
